A few years back while vacationing in Oahu, we decided to take surfing lessons. Well, everyone but me.
I made up all kinds of excuses but when I saw my 8 year old daughter pop up like it was nothing, I had to try. The guy running the lessons had really been around and the young men helping him were clearly “all-in” for the surfing life. They were experts. With their help and my daughter’s example, I quickly went from disinterested to being eager to go again.
That story reminds me of how a lot of marketers take a turn with their digital and social media marketing skills. Getting inspired and then connected with people that really know what they’re doing can be a direct line from zero to social media hero.
What if you could attend a conference where you could get inspired and learn from top thought leaders and brand practitioners while having a great time doing it?
Luckily, we’ve been at it again at TopRank Online Marketing and have produced a conference eBook for Social Media Marketing World to give you a glimpse at the combination of inspiring and practical content planned.
In line with the conference surfing theme, this eBook offers social media smarts from major brands: Century 21, TaylorMade, Eloqua, Whole Foods Market, Adobe, IBM, Cisco, Discover, LinkedIn, Humana, Marriott, Experian, Citrix, PwC, HubSpot, Kelly Services, Cox Communications plus top social media marketing thought leaders and influencers that include Mari Smith, Mark Schaefer and the man behind Social Media Marketing World himself, Michael Stelzner.
There are 38 tips overall on topics that include understanding goals, speaking customer, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, video, social content, influencer marketing, social service and of course, measurement and analytics. Riding the Waves of Social Media is a great primer or appetizer for what you’ll find at Social Media Marketing World. Check it out:
There are some pretty impressive brands and thought leaders in this eBook, so here’s a full list of contributors and their Twitter handles. You can also find this list (and rank speakers) on List.ly. And if you want to follow the content these social media smarties share on Twitter, be sure to check out the #SMMW14 Paper.li paper.
Mari Smith – @MariSmith
Brian Clark – @brianclark
Laura Fitton – @pistachio
Jay Baer – @jaybaer
Dennis Yu – @dennisyu
John Jantsch – @ducttape
Mark Schaefer – @markwschaefer
Amy Porterfield – @AmyPorterfield
Neal Schaffer – @NealSchaffer
Michael Stelzner – @Mike_Stelzner
Lee Odden – @leeodden
Martin Jones – @martinjonesaz
Viveka von Rosen – @LinkedInExpert
Joe Pulizzi – @joepulizzi
Brian Carter – @briancarter
Gini Dietrich – @ginidietrich
Todd Wheatland – @ToddWheatland
Justin Levy – @justinlevy
Jason Miller – @JasonMillerCA
Jill Rowley – @jill_rowley
Connie Bensen – @cbensen
Marcus Sheridan – @TheSalesLion
Tom Martin – @TomMartin
Cliff Ravenscraft – @GSPN
Andrew Gill – @AndrewGrill
Andrea Vahl – @AndreaVahl
Becky Carroll – @bcarroll7
Lewis Bertolucci – @Lewis502
Maria Poveromo – @mariapoveromo
Michael Bepko – @Bepkoboy
Tim Washer – @timwasher
Cynthia Sanchez – @OSPInteresting
Matt Gentile – @MattGentile
Azure Collier – @azurecollier
Michael Delgado – @mikedelgado
Dan Gingiss – @dgingiss
Charles Kautz – @charliekautz
Michelle Lapierre – @mmlap
Of course, the content in this eBook is just a slice of the social media talent that you’ll find at this year’s Social Media Marketing World.
Enjoy the insights in the eBook and then consider attending the event in San Diego. Never mind the opening night on an aircraft carrier and the San Diego Bay networking cruise. Or the fact that your state is probably knee deep in snow and freezing cold and San Diego is sunny and warm.
Even if you ignore those experiences that won’t be found at any other conference, Social Media Marketing World offers an incredible mix of information and learning opportunities.
TopRank will have two livebloggers (Emily Bacheller @emilybacheller and Jesse Pickrain @jpickrainand) covering sessions each day and I will be giving a presentation on How Content and an Influencer Network Can Grow Your Business.
One question I have about this particular conference eBook: Will it really be the most popular eBook we’ve co-created with a conference? That’s up to you and the influencers that helped create it. If you like it, be sure to share and even republish it for your own readers.
Surf’s up! Are you ready?
Image: Shutterstock
